Check Out Disney World’s Best “Pies” for Pi Day

 by Beth Keating

Review/Lifestyle

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 13, 2023

 

Once upon a time,  a long time ago, I was a middle school teacher. And if you’ve ever had the occasion to interact with middle schoolers, you know it’s not easy to capture their attention.  “Pi Day” was one of those days in the school year that seemed to excite the class across the board.

“Pi Day” is March 14, or 3.14, based on the mathematical constant for π (it’s actually 3.141592, etc., because it goes on forever, or at least for trillions of digits.) π represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

So, back to the middle schoolers – we celebrated Pi Day by having the kids bring in their favorite pies for a festive lunch.  Most of them brought things like apple pies, chocolate pies, berry pies, you get the idea…. The teachers then had the kids make their own circular  “pizza pies” with English muffins and pizza sauce.  A good time was had by all.

 

If you find yourself at Disney World for Pi Day on Tuesday, there are a few interesting selections you can grab for your own Pi celebration.  While pizza might be your obvious choice, there are lots of other possibilities along the way. (Please, don’t go for the nearly $12 individual doughy theme park pizzas at places like PizzeRizzo when there are so many better options!)

 

One of my personal favorites is in Animal Kingdom. Trek over to the Yak & Yeti Local Food Café in the Asia section of the park, and grab a cute little mini mango pie ($7.99). This delicious individual serving pie has a tangy filling, and a graham-cracker adjacent crust. Best served cold, they are a great afternoon treat, but I’ve been known to try one for breakfast, too.  Hey, you are on vacation; it’s fine!

 

Hollywood Studios has a few specialty desserts that appear for holidays, and there are a few that will be disappearing soon from the 50th anniversary celebrations. But if you want a pie that’s a little more traditional, pay a visit to your cousins at 50s Prime Time Café for the Lemon Meringue Pie ($9), a tart lemon curd in a crisp pie shell, made all the better because it’s topped with a toasted meringue and raspberry sauce. Just be sure to keep your elbows off the table.

 

If you find yourself in EPCOT, head to Via Napoli in the Italy pavilion, where three massive wood burning ovens, each named after one of the active volcanoes in Italy, bake up perfect (and sometimes unique) Neapolitan pies.  On a recent trip, we sampled the Quattro Formaggi Pizza (ranging from $25-$55 depending on size), and the Prosciutto e Melone Pizza, a delightful and unexpected white pizza with cantalope! (ranging from $26-$54 depending on size).  

Disney Springs is a goldmine of “pie” entrees, or desserts, as the case may be.  For a more non-traditional pie, the quick-serve Cookes of Dublin offers a delicious Chicken & Wild Mushroom Pie ($15.99), a combination of chicken, wild mushrooms and leek in a white wine cream sauce topped off with a flaky pastry.

 

Wolfgang Puck is perhaps the king of “pies,” having staked his reputation on his signature haute cuisine pizza over the years. His Disney Spring’s location, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill,  currently offers more than a half-dozen pies, ranging from a simple Margherita ($18) to the somewhat pricy but very delicious smoked salmon pie ($32). Can you say Spago?

 

Pizza Ponte is a quick-serve favorite of our family, as its pizza is closest to our New York style preferences. The Big Roman ($6.95) is a LARGE slice, more than sufficient for a nice lunch, but we’ve also enjoyed the Four Cheese slice ($7.95) and, of course, a traditional pepperoni slice ($7.25). They’ve all called us back to Disney Springs again and again, and you can’t go wrong with any of the pies from Pizza Ponte. 

The home cooking at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ is always tasty and oh-so-filling, and with so many delicious things on his menu, you’d be forgiven for overlooking the chocolate pecan pie ($14), a 100-year-old Smith family recipe.  You’ll be torn between this and the similarly priced hummingbird cake (always a winner), but it is Pi Day, so you’ll lean toward the nutty goodness. But, if you are really unable to make a choice, and have a friend with you, you can always opt for the Signature Sampler ($24), a higher ticket dessert that nonetheless will give you the hummingbird cake AND the chocolate pecan pie AND the carrot cake. Oh, and a scoop of ice cream, too. Roll yourself on out of the door when you are done.

 

Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza, also at Disney Springs, may be familiar to many Disney guests, because as a chain restaurant across the U.S., it’s a good possibility you have one in your hometown.  With so many other yummy and unique choices on your vacation, Blaze may not be your best use of dining locations, since you can visit one once you get back to the home front, but if you need something speedy, they are a solid choice to design your own meal.  If you aren’t in Disney, you can also take advantage of Blaze’s special $3.14 11-inch pies on Tuesday, as long as you sign up ahead of time for the Blaze rewards program.  They’ll drop you a special coupon in their app for your discounted meal.  (The coupon is good through March 31st, so maybe you can get a double Pi Day out of it.). Check the Blaze website for participating locations near you. 

 

Blaze isn’t the only locale where you get to see your pie being made.  Pay a visit to Trattoria Al Forno on the Boardwalk, where the open kitchen lets you watch the chefs hard at work as they prep your dinner.  Choices range from the Pizze Margherita ($20), with its fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, to the Pizze Carni ($23), a three-meat pizza with an unexpected blend of Italian meats including prosciutto, capicola and sausage, with a bit of a bite from a smattering of pepperoncinis. We’ve never had a bad meal at Trattoria Al Forno, and while it may not be a pie, the Veal Osso Buco here ($35) has been a birthday dinner for a family member on several occasions.

 

We’ll finish off your journey through the Pi Day possibilities with a restaurant you probably haven’t been to – Ale & Compass at the Yacht Club.  And, more importantly, we’ll recommend a dish that you might never have thought of including in the “pie” search: the $30 New England Seafood Pot Pie, made with shrimp, scallops, crab, and sustainable catch of the day, along with baby carrots, pearl onions, peas, potatoes, and crustacean cream, served up under a gloriously puffy crust.  It’s only served during dinner hours from 5-9 p.m., however, so you have a very limited window of opportunity to sample this oceanic delight.  May we suggest pairing it with the restaurant’s Parker House Rolls ($13), which in our family’s opinion, is one of the best reasons to visit Ale & Compass? They are served with bacon jam, pub cheese, and citrus butter, and are insanely good!

 

No matter which “pie” you choose for this year’s π day, we hope you enjoy exploring some of these great Disney dishes.  Maybe you’ll discover a few that we haven’t tried yet.

 

_______________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

Celebrate National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day on April 2

by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 1, 2020

Among the stash of non-perishable foods I brought home when we first went on coronavirus lockdown were jars of peanut butter. Ironically, since my school is a peanut-free facility, peanut butter has become somewhat of a treat at home. Scrolling around the internet the other day, I discovered that April 2^nd is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day! In honor of that event, let’s take a look at some of the great places you’ll be able to get your peanut butter fix when the parks re-open.

Let’s be honest. Disney World is a foodie’s paradise, but sometimes you find yourself travelling with one of those pint-sized picky eaters who just can’t seem to find acceptable nourishment anywhere. Sometimes, only a peanut butter and jelly sandwich will do.  While the ubiquitous peanut butter and jelly sandwich is available all over Disney property at food courts and quick serve locations, Disney has also raised peanut butter and jelly to an art form.  

Without a doubt, the king of the PB&J at Disney can be found at the “50’s Prime Time Café” at Hollywood Studios. A delicious concoction whipped up by one of your “cousins,” the “Peanut Butter & Jelly Milk Shake” ($9.00) is especially delightful in Florida’s summer heat. If you want your peanut butter without jelly while you are at Prime Time, you can also try “Dad's Favorite Chocolate-Peanut Butter Layered Cake” for $8.00, or, if you are feeling decadent, upgrade it to àla mode ($10.00).  Whether you choose to sit in the restaurant and enjoy a PB&J shake as part of a “home-cooked” meal, or pop in to the “Tune-In Lounge” next door just to seek out the PB&J shake’s chilly goodness, you won’t be sorry you tried this frosty beverage. It sounds odd, and doesn’t look any different than a typical chocolate shake, but trust me, it will be one of the best treats you’ll enjoy on your trip.   

A kicked-up version of a PB&J sandwich is available over at the Magic Kingdom…sometimes. If you find yourself on Tom Sawyer Island during one of the short windows during which the island’s quick serve is seasonally open, stop in to Aunt Polly’s little clapboard house.  There, you can nibble on a tasty “Peanut Butter and Raspberry Preserve Sandwich,” served on brioche bread with house made Cajun chips for $9.49. A hazelnut version is also available. (For chocolate spread aficionados, that’s codeword for Nutella.) “Aunt Polly’s Dockside Inn” is a quaint little spot to sit in a shaded area away from the craziness of the theme park crowds. Unfortunately, it is not open all that often, and the menu does change unexpectedly.

Feeling fancy, or looking for a special afternoon out with mom and the girls?  “Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Tea Room” at the Grand Floridian may be the ticket.  The afternoon can be a pricey one, depending on your choices (adults $35 -$105), but the setting is lovely, and it’s a peaceful and upscale break from the theme park rides.  While you sip on teas from around the world and nibble scones and other sweets, kids ages 3-9 can enjoy “Mrs. Potts’ Tea” ($23.00) with assorted finger sandwiches, including peanut butter and jelly.   

If nothing but a straight-up peanut butter and jelly sandwich will do for your younglings, there are a plethora of options throughout the parks. Search out the “Mickey Check Meals” which, without substitutions, will meet nutrition guidelines. For example, over at the All Star Resorts, host to legions of kids headed for the Disney Parks, the “End Zone Food Court” at All Star Sports Resort offers a Mickey Check kid’s meal of a Smucker’s Uncrustables with a choice of a small milk or water with grapes and carrot sticks for $5.49.  Once you get to the parks,“Harambe Market” at Animal Kingdom offers up an Uncrustables meal with drink choice and apple slices for $6.19, while Magic Kingdom’s “Columbia Harbor House”and “Pinocchio Village Haus” both offer a slight variation on the kid’s meal with an Uncrustablesserved with a Dannon Danimals Smoothie, GoGo squeeZ applesauce, and a choice of milk or water for $6.49. Over at “Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café,” enjoy your PB&J while listening to the dulcet tones of Sonny Eclipse. There, yourUncrustables is served with a Cuties mandarin orange, GoGo squeeZ applesauce, and choice of milk or water, also for $6.49.  Swap that mandarin orange for grapes, and you have the $6.49 Uncrustables meal at the “ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill.”  Those are just a few of the locations providing Uncrustables for your young ‘uns.  Or you, if the need arises. No judgement here.

If you want your peanut butter solo, there’s also the highly coveted “Nyala Brownie” at “The Mara” at Animal Kingdom Lodge.This thick, rich brownie is covered with peanut butter buttercream and a vanilla buttercream stripe - a remarkably yummy steal at $4.79. Or, if you are over near Magic Kingdom, pop into Contempo Café at The Contemporary for their creamy and delicious Peanut Butter Pie ($4.79) in the grab and go bakery case.

Another delightful choice that serves up peanut butter sans jelly is the $11.00 “No Way José” at the “Beaches and Cream Soda Shop,” near the Beach Club.A peanut butter and hot fudge sundae dish, it features both chocolate and vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate morsels, whipped cream, and a cherry.

A newcomer to the mix is the “Peanut Butter Snickers Pie” ($10.00) at the recently opened “City Works Eatery and Pour House” at Disney Springs.  Its Oreo cookie crust goodness is missing the jelly, but has plenty of peanut butter mousse, whipped cream, Snickers, and chocolate and caramel sauce.

If you find yourself on the opposite coast, make your way to “The Sand Bar” at Paradise Pier Hotel at Disneyland.  There, for $17.00, you can delight in the “PBJ Burger Sliders,” an entrée that includes plant-based meat, peanut butter, and blackberry jam on a toasted potato bun. Toting the kiddos along? “The Sand Bar” also serves up an Uncrustable sandwichwith a choice of milk, water or juice for $6.00.

A recent addition to the west coast park is the “Peanut Butter and Jelly Slush” ($7.49) at “Maurice’s Treats” in Fantasy Faire.  This spectacular goody is a grape flavored icy slush with peanut butter stripes down the inside of the glass, served up with a donut topper straddling your straw. Yikes!  That’ll keep you going for hours.

If you’d rather have your peanut butter and jelly early in the morning (and really, who doesn’t need that to jump start a park day?), you can head to “Goofy's Kitchen” for “Goofy’s Famous Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza,” displayed prominently as part of the character breakfast buffet at the Disneyland Hotel. (Prices range from $35-$59.99 for adults, and $23 for kids.)

Lastly, while the jelly may be missing from this one, you don’t want to miss out on the peanut buttery heaven that resides at “Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes.”  This Disneyland locale, known for its outrageous and totally Instagrammable libations, offers the “Sweet 'N Salty” for $15.00.  Located in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney zone, Black Tap’s “Sweet ‘N Salty” is an over-the-top peanut butter shake with a chocolate and peanut butter frosted rim, decorated with little chocolate gems and peanut butter cups topped with a Sugar Daddy, pretzel rods, chocolate covered pretzel, whipped cream, caramel and chocolate drizzle. You probably don’t need the extra sugar from jelly after all of that, anyway.

Why settle for an ordinary PB&J when you can go Disney-style and make it memorable? Or at least Instagrammable.

Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

Where’s the Beef? Disney and Second Harvest Food Bank

by Beth Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 18, 2020

With Walt Disney World closing due to the coronavirus, Disney has turned to donating unused food to Second Harvest Food Bank.

In an average year, Disney World in Florida serves up more than 1.2 million pounds of turkey legs; 3.3 million Mickey Shaped Premium Bars; ten million hamburgers; a million pounds of watermelon; 324,000 pounds of popcorn (with and without the souvenir buckets); and 89 different varieties of cheese. Over at California Grill, 70 pounds of tomatoes show up on diner’s plates nightly, while the “cousins” at 50’s Prime Time Café at Hollywood Studios dish up 190 orders of meatloaf and mashed potatoes each day. At the nearby Hollywood Brown Derby, 63,000 Cobb Salads a year make their way to guests’ tummies.  

Think of the last character buffet you attended (loving you, Tusker House!), or the ice-filled displays full of delicious looking seafoods (thinking of you, Cape May Buffet!), and the yummy dessert offerings (oh, where are you when I need you, Les Halles?) And that’s just the regular stops. Throw in the Food and Wine Festival in the fall, or the recently interrupted Flower and Garden Festival with all of its creative booths, and you have A LOT of food circulating through Lake Buena Vista and its environs.

In fact, Walt Disney World Resort would rank 45^th among the world’s largest restaurant chains if it were an independent food service company. There are more than 475 places to dine across Disney World. If you include food carts, more than 6,000 different food items are available. The Land Pavilion alone provides more than 30 tons of fruits and vegetables yearly, grown right at Epcot (make sure you take the boat ride through the greenhouses sometime and see the plants and fishies in action). 

With the rapid close of the Disney Parks – from bustling park full of hungry guests to ghost-town sidewalks in less than a week – what will become of all that extra food that is now sitting forlornly on shelves, with no guests in sight?

Disney has reached out to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, whom they have worked with since 1991, to donate the remaining food inventory to Central Floridians who will be in need during the coronavirus outbreak. With schools also closed during this crisis, school children will be especially vulnerable to missing meals, and Second Harvest will step in to help fill the void. More than 40 Orlando area nonprofits receive over 823,000 pounds of prepared, unserved food and veggies through Disney Harvest.

In a letter to cast members, Josh D’Amaro (Walt Disney World Resort President) said the Disney Harvest program “collects and distributes enough food each year to provide one million meals to people in need.” Disneyland in California is also sharing the bounty, sending their excess foods, including fruit, vegetables, packaged goods and banquet meals, to Second Harvest Food Bank in Orange County. Disneyland donated more than 20,000 meals to Second Harvest last year. In addition, Disney VoluntEARS also donate their time to helping out at Second Harvest locations. Second Harvest has also been the beneficiary of the runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon. What a blessing to come out of the Parks’ closings! Kudos to Disney, not only for a creative solution to their excess and unserved foods, but for lending a hand to their fellow Floridians.

As for me, with the extra downtime at home, I’m going over to the Disney Food Blog and scrolling through their Disney recipes section while I’m waiting.  Maybe I’ll pull together the Tonga Toast for dinner tonight… 

The above food fun facts are taken from Walt Disney World News. https://wdwnews.com/releases/walt-disney-world-resort-dining-fun-facts/

Want to make your own Tonga Toast?  Here’s the link to Disney Food Blog’s recipe (they are not affiliated with Disney World, but are a great website that will help you fill your Disney needs while you are waiting for the parks to reopen!) https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/08/08/disney-recipe-tonga-toast-from-kona-cafe-in-disney-world/

Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

7 Reasons Hollywood Studios Ranks Best Among Walt Disney World Parks

by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 24, 2019

Disney’s Hollywood Studios ranks as the best of the four theme parks in Walt Disney World. In fact, it leaves Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom in the dust.

Right now, Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom aficionados are outraged, and ready for a debate. Well, a Disney debate is always fun. So, here are my 7 reasons for making this bold claim.

#1. The Vibe. I’m a movie buff – especially loving classic films. Since it opened in 1989 (as Disney-MGM Studios), Hollywood Studios has served up a great Hollywood vibe. In fact, the two streets – Hollywood and Sunset Blvds – offer a great old-time movies feel. Indeed, as far as streets go in Disney World, these two boulevards only rank behind Main Street, U.S.A., in the Magic Kingdom in terms of being iconic.

#2. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. While I’ve been a top fan of Hollywood Studios since it opened, the immersive Galaxy’s Edge is unparalleled as a theme park land, and Smugglers Run rates as one of the best rides around – especially for a Star Wars fan. Check out my take on Galaxy’s Edge – “9 Reasons to Love Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World.”

#3. Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. Disney imagineers did a very nice job in upgrading the Star Tours attraction, which first opened in 1989. The new Star Tours – The Adventures Continue opened in May 2011, with new sequences added in November 2015 and November 2017. Even given what’s happening in Galaxy’s Edge, this remains a great attraction.

#4. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. A welcome from Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone, an old, scary Hollywood hotel, and a thrill ride with great views and drops – nothing more need be said.

#5. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. It's hard to think of better ways to celebrate Hollywood than coming in from the Florida heat and humidity, sitting down in a replica convertible, watching old sci-fi movies on a huge screen under an evening sky, and enjoying some solid food, including excellent burgers and shakes. I always love going to the Sci-Fi Dine-In, but for some reason I failed to stop in on my latest visit. What the heck was I thinking?

#6. 50’s Prime Time Café. How can you not enjoy taking a trip back to the 1950s, sitting at the formica kitchen table (no elbows on the table, please!), a black-and-white television offering some TV classics, and solid comfort food served up family style. (Make sure you know what color the soap is if you use the restrooms... you might get asked to make sure you washed!)

#7. Indiana Jones. As I wrote in a recent article – Dear Bob: Disney Needs to Step It Up on Indiana Jones – Disney needs more Indiana Jones in the parks, including Indy merchandise. But what Disney does offer, of course, is to be discovered in Hollywood Studios, namely, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost. Hollywood Studios gets an automatic thumbs-up for being the home of Indiana Jones.

So, I could go on, but there are seven solid reasons why Disney’s Hollywood Studios ranks as the best theme park in Disney World.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

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